If you need free dentures or cosmetic dental work because you do not have the money to pay for this yourself, there is some help available from the dental community that provides this type of assistance to low-income patients. Sadly there is certainly not enough of this help available to serve every person out there that cannot afford to pay for their own dental care. And it is easy to understand how frustrating it can be to desperately need quality dental work and not be able to afford it. But if you have a severe dental situation and you need help with free dentures or other dental prosthetics, you may be able to find it from the sources provided here.

Be advised that most of the resources available to dental patients are offered to those with low-income. This help is mainly targeted to correct medically at-risk cases, to help the disabled and to assist seniors with quality dental care they cannot afford to provide for themselves. There is one major national program that provides care through volunteer dentists and dental labs on the local level. And other programs exist that work specifically with victims of domestic violence and those who have been involved in living organ donations. In addition to the few programs that provide free care, many schools of dentistry across the country offer clinics that work with patients in their area at highly reduced rates. So if you cannot locate free dental help, seeking care from a university clinic could make addressing your dental problem more financially feasible.

Free Dental Work A Solution To A Growing Problem
This program may just be your best option and it is a program I have personally started myself. Do to the overwhelming amount of requests for funding we have received here at GrantsGuys.com and my personal connection to this topic I have decided to start a program. The program is fairly new and it will require some work on your end. If you feel that getting a small loan to fix your dental problem is a possible solution for you this program could work.

Dental Lifeline Network Donated Dental Services
The Dental Lifeline Network is just what it sounds like it is, a nationwide network of dentists and labs who volunteer free comprehensive dental treatment. It provides this help to those who lack proper income to pay for their own dental needs in three patient areas: seniors, permanently disabled and medically at-risk. This network contains over 15,000 dentists and 3,000 dental labs across the United States and steps in where Medicare and Medicaid do not cover essential dental services.

To apply for help, visit the state DDS programs page on the DLN website. Click on your state located on the map at the bottom of the page to find contact information for your state program coordinator. Each state listing provides email and phone for the point of contact for the program in your area and shows the overall amount of donated services and number of patients helped in the previous year inside each state. Availability of the program depends on the number of dentists enrolled in the volunteer program and coverage is far from consistent in all areas.

Domestic Violence Give Back a Smile Program
Offered by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, this professional dental organization provides free restorative work to those who have had their teeth damaged through criminal domestic violence. This program is open to any domestic violence victim, male or female, whose dental injuries were sustained by a partner or spouse and who are now out of the abusive relationship for at least one year. The program does not pay for dental repair caused by neglect or pay to fix dental injuries not sustained by domestic violence.

The application process to receive help is fairly simple. You must first fill out a patient application. There is a one time $20 application fee but this can be waived if you complete 10 hours of community service prior to submitting your application. Applicants must conduct a local interview to confirm program eligibility and will then have an appointment with an AACD dentist scheduled in their area to perform the cosmetic work to restore their smile. For more information, call 800-773-4227 or use the Give Back a Smile contact form on the AACD website.

Mouthglove Free Dentures Program for Living Organ Donors or Recipients
If you have made or received a living organ donation for surgery such as a kidney transplant and are in need of free dentures, you most likely qualify to receive help from Mouthglove Dentures. This is not a program to help those that have merely agreed to donate organs following a fatal accident, but instead works with patients who have undergone lifesaving organ donation surgery and are in need of dentures. To apply, email Mouthglove at mouthglove@gmail.com. You must provide information about the organ transplant you participated with including hospital records of the operation and agree to allow Mouthglove to use your story in press releases concerning its free dentures program. Help is somewhat limited as Mouthglove only provides a single donation per month of an upper or lower set of dentures.

Dentistry School Clinics Offering Reduced Dental Care
If you find you do not qualify for the programs that provide free dental care, the next best thing could be seeking treatment at a university dental clinic. If normal care through a dentist office is impossible due to lack of dental insurance or you simply cannot afford it, many dental schools across the country operate clinics that see patients at highly reduced rates. These clinics operate under the supervision of school faculty and exist to give dental students and residents experience working with patients. High quality dental care is provided by students, residents and in some cases faculty themselves but treatment is offered in an instructional environment and can take longer to accomplish than by visiting a normal dentist office. Due to the research environment available at a school of dentistry, state of the art techniques are likely to be used on those seeking care at a university clinic. Here are a few examples of schools that offer low-cost dental clinics:

To find a school clinic near you, search our dental schools page. there you will find the colleges and universities in your state that offer programs for dentistry and see if they offer reduced cost dental care in your area.

Kipp is the Contributing Editor for Grantsguys.com, covering sources of potential funding in the world of grants. His mission is to assist people like you by locating and sharing private, non-profit and government grants. Got a question or a tip on a neat grant? Connect with him now at kippshives@grantsguys.com.
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Comments (230)

I am a single mother who has returned to school to better the lives of my children and my self. I have no income and lots of dental problems. Need teeth pulled and either implants or dentures put in. I have never had any good experiences with dentist so being awake and alert through it all really scares me to no end. Please any help I can get with this would be wonderful. It has gotten to where I have having a very hard time even eating. Also my boy friend is a veteran and is in extreme pain right now due to a tooth that broke on him. He doesn’t have dental insurance through the veteran association and is in need of extractions and replacements as well. Please help us both so we can eat decent meals again and not have to live in pain.

Cathy, I’m not sure where Denton County is, but the next Free Dental Clinic in Texas is scheduled for September 18-19 and will be in Lubbock. We just missed one last month that was held in Texarkana. Looks like they do four free clinics a year there and always in a different part of the state.

It looks like there is no Mission of Mercy free dental clinic operating in Maine, Vermont or New Hampshire and I doubt traveling all the way to New York is an option for you. Donated Dental Services does operate in Maine but this program is offered in Franklin, Waldo and York counties only. It looks like the Northeast in general isn’t the best place to live at this time for free dental services. Sorry I don’t have much for you.

I am an uninsured Tennessean, unemployed and all but 5 of my teeth are just rotted nubs or broke off at the gum. I have tried to get tenncare but being as I have no children under 18 I do not qualify. I do not qualify for medicaid or medicare so any type of treatment for my body is pretty much a no go. It is now getting to where I can only eat certain things as it is painful or depending on the food I can not chew it up. Please Please Please… There has to be a way that I can have them pulled and get some dentures. Is there NO program at all in Warren County Tennessee that can help me? I am not picky, I don’t want the glamour shot dentures just something that will help me eat normally once again. Shoot, I would gladly take Ben Franklin’s wooden teeth.

Stacey, I hear ya. Unfortunately there’s no Mission of Mercy program yet in Tennessee. You might want to check this article if you are close to a program city in a neighboring state. Also, in Tennessee, there is a State Dental Association program. Mainly it works with seniors and the disabled, but it does specify that it works with people with medically fragile circumstances. That may just be you. Check this Tennessee webpage for more information about your local program.

Clint, there’s a really great program there in Virginia that offers mobile dental clinics at absolutely no cost. If you’re disabled, you most likely are eligible for their services. Check this Mission of Mercy Virginia webpage to see when the next clinic is being held that you can attend.

I’m a 26 year old mother of 3. I have to get all my top teeth removed and the ones in the back on the bottom. I am so upset about this because there is no way I can afford to get dentures for myself. But I have to get my teeth removed. They hurt so very badly and they are full of infection. I have to get it done so I’m healthy for my kids. I’m a single mom. My kids depend on me. My teeth have just crumbled after my 3rd child was born. This was the worst thing that I could have been told. I want to be able to take pictures with my babies and volunteer at their schools. Or just go out in public and not be stared at. I was thinking of not even getting them pulled so I didn’t have to go around toothless but I can’t remain in this kind of shape. I need help so very badly. I don’t know what else to do or where to turn. Thank you for your time. Sincerely yours, Chelsey Farley

Chelsey, check this free dental clinics article out to see if they hold a Mission of Mercy event in your area. Most states have them now and they definitely help people like you. I know, my Mom volunteered at one here in South Carolina earlier in the year and worked with a single mother that was having tooth replacement done at the free clinic.

I am permanently disabled and my teeth are really bad. They hurt and are broken with many other problems. I have medicare but no money for dental. Not able to smile or eat. I live in Puyallup, Washington. Is there some where that could help me?

Hi, Tracy. There is a national program with a Washington state office that might could help you there in Puyallup. Currently however, they’re not accepting patients from Pierce County. You may still want to check with them and find out when and if they will accept patients in your area. This program helps seniors and permanently disabled patients. You may also want to contact the Christ Free Clinic who provide dental assistance to anyone who is under 200% the federal poverty guidelines. I suspect you are eligible for their services and they are right up the road from you in Auburn, Washington.

I am trying to find some help for my Dad. His teeth are falling out and he went to the dentist and they told him he needs to get them pulled and replaced with dentures or implant retained dentures. He does have insurance but it doesn’t cover hardly anything. He lives in Illinois. If anyone deserves help with this, its my Dad! He works hard everyday and helps everyone he meets!

Hey, there Vanessa. If your dad is over 65, he can apply to this program in Illinois that works with seniors. Otherwise, the ISDS Foundation just held their third ever free dental clinic event in Peoria during June. Check their website for the announcement on when that next clinic will be held. If he is unable to get help from the Donated Dental Services program, there is no income requirement or eligibility nonsense with ISDS. They just help whoever walks in the door during those free clinics. Hope this helps. Good luck to your Dad!

Dr. Kipp, is there a free dental clinic in Nebraska where I can get what little I have left pulled and dentures made for free? I am totally disabled: COPD, Congestive Heart Failure, bad back and legs. And I take a medication that has rotted my teeth. Many are broken off, missing, rotten or about to fall out. I am in a lot of pain because of them. Living on $875 a month for the two of us is very hard to make ends meet let alone get dental work done. Please advise me of what I can do and where I can get some help. I get Medicare but not Medicaid here in Neb as I make ONE dollar too much. Thanks so much for your help to so many that you have done here on this web site. And thanks from me for what ever you can suggest. Respectfully, Bob Hershgeer.

Hey Bob, let me first tell you that the federal government raised the poverty guidelines in January to $11,770 for a single individual and $15,930 for a family of two. I really don’t understand why that makes you ineligible for Medicaid since you’re well under that and most eligibility is set to slightly above those guidelines anyway. I did take a look at the Nebraska Medicaid site but I couldn’t find any rhyme or reason to it. I’d definitely check back with Medicaid if you haven’t done so in 2015. I believe those new guidelines from Uncle Sam would mean you’re now eligible. OK, second thing: Nebraska Mission of Mercy seems to have been quite active in your state but their website still only advertises information from 2013. Perhaps they’re just bad at updating their website but unfortunately I doubt that. It looks like the program was sponsored by Dr. Steve Anderson in Grand Island. I’d at least give that office a call at 308-210-2986 and find out if they’re still doing MoM. Here’s the Donated Dental Services Nebraska webpage. They aren’t currently accepting apps but they do work with the disabled so keep an eye on that to see when it reopens. In the meantime, Bob, if you’re able to pay anything, Nebraska DHHS put this brochure of public dental clinics operating around your state. I think most of them work on a sliding scale of income. It wouldn’t hurt to call the closest one of those to you and find out what they charge. Sometimes they don’t charge anything at all if you income is low enough and to me it certainly is. Anyway, a lot of information there, I hope one of those programs still has its doors on and can assist you.

I’m in Joplin, Missouri and am 100% disabled. I have medicare/medicaid and my teeth are poisoning me. Missouri Donated Dental Services is not accepting new apps. I have 3 that need to be pulled now which will leave me with no molars for chewing. I am truly desperate. I also had TMJ surgery on both sides. Please help!

Hi Tamara, usually with DDS it looks like they shut down applications when they get backed up on cases. The dentists in the program perform free work for DDS clients in exchange for a tax deduction. For that reason, it seems most of the work gets done at the end of the year and then cases reopen. I’d call Teena Paris at 573/636-4440. She is the DDS coordinator in Missouri and perhaps she can tell you when applications will reopen or even help you with your case. Disability patients are a priority so you’d think she could assist you in some way. There is a Mission of Mercy event in Missouri, but this is a case of bad timing as they just held the event July 31 to August 1 in Columbia. There’s no information currently on the website about their next event so I’d assume its not until next Summer and I doubt you can wait that long. While they generally do charge but on a sliding scale, these Low-Income Missouri dental clinics might be an option for you. Anyway, I hope something here helps.

Hi I am a single parent of 2, I have self esteem problems right now because the father of my children beat me up and knocked my front teeth out. I have a partial right now but the wire is gone so it’s just sitting in my mouth. On top of that I am in severe pain right now because I have 2 teeth up top that HAS to be pulled immediately, I am also very sad and depressed because my partial will no longer fit after I have the teeth extracted, I feel like dying, I might end it all if I have to live with having no teeth in the front, I don’t wanna go on, I have no hope right now and no money, my depression medicine is not helping with this issue, PLEASE, I BEG SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME